I always had a passion to become a beautician and a tailor. After my training in tailoring I got married. I lost my child. I was depressed. My husband would go away to work and I found it hard to pass my time. That is when I took my training as a beautician at a professional institute in R.T. Nagar. It was my husband who encouraged me in this field.
Soon I found myself working as a beautician at my home. It was a tiny sheet house but soon I was working from seven in the morning to 10 at night. In between I also taught tailoring to some girls and women. My husband had to leave the house every time I got a customer. I was doing well but could not give proper time to my family. I felt that my husband and my other son were neglected. I started a parlour close by and I got busier.
To get a breather, five years ago, I sold the parlour and shifted to K. Narayanapura Road to start Natural Beauty Parlour. I chose this place because there were hardly any parlours here in those days.
As there are many colleges around here, students come to my parlour the most. I am their ‘aunty’. My speciality is that I offer them perfection whether it is a facial, eyebrows or manicure for a reasonable price. I charge Rs. 20 for eyebrows and haircuts start at Rs. 100. The students sometimes cannot even pay that so I offer a lot of credit. They too are so good to me and comeback with friends and pay me as soon as they get money.
My dream is to train as many uneducated and unemployed women as beauticians or tailors free of charge.
I have trained two girls till now. One works for me. But others are free to work anywhere they wish. My idea is that they work out of home and earn something just like I did when I started. They should be able to support themselves even if they missed out on basic education.
My way of keeping myself abreast with new trends is by attending many seminars by various companies. In fact, one cosmetic company found me so passionate about my profession that I was asked to anchor one of their seminars.
In five years I dream to open more parlours. According to me the best way a woman can look beautiful is by just shaping their eyebrows, a bit of kohl in their eyes and a little face powder. But it is the beauty within that shines forth. If a person lacks that... then no amount of make up and grooming can make them look good on the outside.
I am is a weekly column on men and women who make Bangalore what it is.
